Headache
by Samara13
Summary: After Dipper hit Ford with the memory gun, Ford is having a lot of trouble with the metal plate in his head.
1. Chapter 1

Why? Why did this hurt so much?

Stanford Pines groaned as he turned on the light in the bathroom of his house. Or the Mystery Shack as his brother had renamed it years ago. The sudden switch from darkness to light only made the pain in his head to increase even more. It had been several hours after his great nephew had hit him with the memory erase gun and although the metal plate had prevented the memory loss it seemed now that there were indeed some concequenses.

Ford looked into the mirror. His reflection did not look too well. His eyes were squinted, still adjusting to the light and his eyebrows were pushed together in a frown. He sighed and opened the medicain cabinet. After looking through it for several minutes he came to the conclusion that the pain killers were no where to be found.

"Really Stanley?" He muttered angry.

Just as he wanted to close the cabinet, his hand accidentaly got caught behind the first aid kit. It came crashing down onto the floor. The noise caused Ford's head to almost explode, or so it felt. The man clenched his hands around his ears, desperately trying to shield them from the noise. Finally it was quiet again. Ford opened his eyes and saw that the whole floor was covered with bandages, a bottle of disinfectant which had opened and other stuff.

"What's going on in there?" sounded Stanley Pines voice from down the hall.

"S…sorry I tripped and knocked something over!" Ford replied, trying to keep his voice steady.

There was a brief silence. "You okay?" 

Ford smiled. "Yes Stanley, go back to sleep, I'll clean it up." 

He went on his knees and quickly, but quietly, put everything back in the kit, sweeped up the liquid and put the kit back where it belonged. After that he retreted to his room and fell down on his couch. He had gone to the bathroom to see if he could find something to relieve him from the agonizing pain in his head but instead came back with even more pain. He was pretty sure it was the metal plate causing it. Maybe it had moved from its place after that beam hit him. Was that even possible?  
Oh well, he would go to the store and get some pain killers tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

Ford slowly opened his eyes and groaned. A small line of sunlight was shining on his face through the curtains. With another, longer groan he turned on his side and looked at the clock on the wall. Eight o'clock. He was spooked by a sudden knock on the door. 

"Grunkle Ford, breakfast is ready!"

Ford squeezed his eyes shut and ran a hand through his hair. Normally he loved the enthusiasme of his great niece but today was not one of those days. The headache was less then it was last night but it was still there.

"There he is, I was afraid your head got stuck in one of your books." Stanley said with a grin as Ford entered the kitchen and sat down between his niece and nephew. His grin disappeared when he saw how horrible his twin looked.

"Grunkle Ford, I made you more Mabel juice!" Mabel said as she pointed to a large bottle with purple substance.

"Thanks Mabel." Ford said as he poured himself a glass of the purple liquid and chugged it down.

"I can't believe you would actually drink that more than once." Stan said with a frown.

"Yeah I tried it once and couldn't taste anything for a week." Dipper said. 

"Don't listen to them Grunkle Ford, I'm glad you love it as much as I do." Mabel said.

Ford chuckled and ran a hand through his niece's hair. "To be honest, this taste almost the same as a drink I loved to drink in most bars throughout the multiverse."

"Oh Mabel we have to go, we are supposed to meet Wendy and the others in front of the arcade." Dipper said.

"Oooo right your date with Wendy!" Mabel said as both kids stood up.

"It's not a date Mabel!"

"Than why is your face getting red Dip-Dip?"

The younger twins said goodbye to the elder twins and silence filled the kitchen.

Ford focused on eating his cereal, trying to ignore the now growing pain in his head.

"So are you gonna tell what's going on?"

Ford looked up to see Stanley looking at him expectingly.

"Oh don't give me that confused owl look, I know something's up." Stan said. "You look like hell."

When his brother did not answer Stanley sighed. "What were you doing in the bathroom in the middle of the night?"

"I uh…had stomach cramps." Ford said looking back at his bowl.

"It's the Mabel juice huh, I told you that stuff is only good for killing weed in the garden."

"Yeah well, I really like the taste of it." Ford said trying to keep his face towards the table. Lying has never been his thing. "Anyway, shouldn't you start opening up the shop?"

Stan stood up and stretched. "Yeah I supposes o, those walking money bags could arrive any minute, I'm going to find Soos." "What are you going to do today, lock yourself up in the basement again?"

"No I was thinking about taking a walk, it's been a while since I've seen Gravity Falls."

A smile appeared on Stanley's face. "Well it would do you good to get some fresh air, it might help your stomach to digest all that Mabel Juice."

Ford chuckled. "Who knows, it might."

Stan kept his eyes on his brother with a worried look.

"I'm fine, it probably is the Mabel juice, I promise to try and cut back on it okay?"

"Whatever, you're a grown man do what you want." Stan said as he walked out of the kitchen.

Ford sighed and put his face into his hands. The headache was getting worse and he had barely made it through breakfast without letting his familymembers notice his pain. They have been through enough already. Stanley spending thirty years long to get him home, each and every night. Mabel, that sweet girl had punched a Unicorn in the face yesterday, not to mention everything else she and her brother have been through this summer! And Dipper, oh if he would find out Ford was having this terrible headache because the boy had hit him with the memory gun, the poor boy would never forgive himself.


	3. Chapter 3

The wind blew in Ford's face as he walked through the streets of the town. To his surprise, it actually did help to get some fresh air. His headache was still there, but it was not nearly as bad as before. He stopped and looked around. After thirty years, the town of course had changed quite a bit. Suddenly he heard someone yell.

"Yo mister Pines catch!"

Ford turned around only to get hit in the face by a rugby ball.

"O my god Dr. Pines I am so sorry!"

Through his hands covering his face, Ford could see the red headed girl (Wendy was her name?) run towards him. After her came some other teenagers and as last his niece and nephew.

"Grunkle Ford are you alright?" Dipper asked nervous.

"Yes, yes I'm fine." Ford grunted.

"Again I'm sorry Dr. Pines, your brother usually catches all my throws…" Wendy said rubbing the back of her neck.

"Well Stanley had always been the better sportsman." Ford said "Now that you are here you can actually help me." "Do you know where the drugstore is?"

"Yeah, end of the street to the left." One fat teenager covered in bruises said.

"Thanks, now please, go harass other people."

"Let's practise our tackles on Thompson again!" A teenager with black eyeliner said.

The group walked away chanting: "Thompson, Thompson!"

Ford sighed and rubbed his forehead with his fingertips. Usually his reflexes were great, he should have been able to catch, or at least avoid that ball. He walked further down the street, picking up his pace slightly. Now his face was hurting as well. He turned to the left and indeed there was the drugstore.

"Good morning mister Pines, how can I help you?" a man at the cash register called out as soon as Ford walked into the shop.

"Uh…I need a strong pain killer." Ford said, taken aback by the sudden mentioning of his name.

"Oh it's the back again huh?" the man said with a tone of sympathy.

Oh geez he thinks I'm Stan…Ford thought.

"No I've got a pretty nasty headache actually." "Just give me the strongest stuff you have please."

The man narrowed his eyes. Ford swallowed and tried to keep his expression as casual as possible. Suddenly an idea popped up.

"So uh…you watched ducktective last night?" Ford asked in his roughest voice possible, witch slightly resembled Stanley's.

"Yes I did, I was thinking about asking you about it when I would run into you!" the man said as he turned around and grabbed a box from the shelve. "What did you think of the plot twist with the evil twin?"

"Oh please, an evil twin?" Ford scoffed, still in his imitation voice. "How lame is that?"

The man looked at him with big eyes and Ford realized he made a mistake. He grabbed the box from the man and threw his money on the counter.

"Anyway I have to go uh…open the Mystery Shack for another tour, see ya!"

And without looking back he ran out of the shop.

Phew that was close! He thought as he quickly walked back to his house…no the Shack. The people of Gravity Falls did not need to know that their Stanford Pines was not actually Stanford Pines but Stanley Pines, who everyone thought was dead. Not yet anyway.

"So did it help?"

Ford looked up. He had been talking to himself so deeply that he hadn't even realized he was already at the Shack. Stanley was looking at him with raised eyebrows.

"Did what help?" Ford asked.

"The fresh air, for your stomach." Stanley said now looking a bit worried.

"Oh yes I'm fine."

"Well you don't look fine, what happened to your face?"

Ford's hand automatically went to his face and he carefully stroked his cheek, which felt quite painful.

"Your employee threw a rugby ball towards me."

"Oh yeah Wendy and I have this thing going on hehe." Stanley said apologetically. "She wouldn't believe I used to be good at rugby, so…. and then there was a whole bet going on…"

Ford walked around Stanley towards the front door. When he was inside he went upstairs towards the bathroom. To his surprise Stanley followed him.

"Uh Stanley, what are you doing?" He asked.

His brother didn't answer but instead opened the medicine cupboard and pulled an ice bag out of it.

"Sit." He said.

"Excuse me?" Ford asked getting more confused by the minute.

"Just sit on the edge of the tub Sixer."

Ford did as he was told. Stan kneeled in front of him and inspected Ford's bruised cheek.

"Ah it doesn't look so bad, just keep that ice bag on it for a while, the swelling should be gone soon enough."

Ford was flabbergasted. He took the bag from his brother and carefully put it against his cheek.

"How's the stomach?"

"Huh?" Ford looked up, not quite hearing what Stan had said. The pain in his head was throbbing again, getting more painful by the minute.

"I asked you how your stomach was doing." "Geez Sixer you were a lot more intelligent before you went in that portal." Stan said, immediately regretting that remark.

Before he could start apologizing Ford raised his free hand to stop him.

"My stomach is fine Stanley, I'm just dizzy from that hit, that's all."

"Okay well um…I've got another tour in ten minutes so I should get ready." "You take care of yourself okay, maybe get some shut eye."

"I will and thank you Stanley…" Ford said with a grin (or trying to grin at the least).

Stan smiled and walked out of the bathroom, down the stairs. Ford carefully stood up and took a few steps towards the sink. He had lied about a lot today but the dizziness was all too real. With a shaky hand he filled a cup with water. He put the ice bag down and opened the box of pain killers.

"Be sure to only take half a pill each day, if the pain is not gone after three days please advise professional help." He muttered, reading the description aloud.

Professional help yeah right, that would be an interesting conversation: Hello I am suffering from a horrible headache due to the fact that the metal plate that I've got installed in my head by an alien in another dimension got hit by a memory erase gun, please help me.  
Ford huffed and took an entire pill out of the package. With one big gulp of water, the pill was gone. He drank the rest of the water and shoved the box of pills into his coat. After that, he decided Stanley was right and he should try to get some sleep.

And there Ford was, safely tucked underneath his blanket, on his couch, in his room. The curtains were closed, as was the door. Not a single ray of sunlight could enter the room. He sighed contently as he closed his eyes. No noise and no irritating sunlight, just darkness and peaceful silence.


	4. Chapter 4

_Sniff sniff…sniff sniff_

Ford grabbed his blanket and pulled it over his head. Whatever it was that he heard, he did not want to open his eyes yet.

 _Sniff sniff…_

Suddenly something jumped on Ford's chest. With a gasp the man opened his eyes and sat up. He was looking in the eyes of a chubby, pink pig. Just then footsteps emerge. The pig quickly dives under Ford's blanket at the same time Mabel peeks her head through the door.

"Oh Waddles what did Grunkle Stan tell us?" She said in a reprimanding voice. "We were not allowed to disturb Grunkle Ford!"

She walked to her pet pig and pulled him in her arms.

"I'm very sorry Grunkle Ford, I told Waddles not to bother you, I guess Soos left some of his chips in your room…"

Ford rubbed his eyes. "It's fine Mabel, I'll be up in a minute."

He watched his niece walk away with Waddles safely in her arms. After he was sure she could not hear him anymore, Ford let a long deep groan. Though his nap had been very peaceful up until the rude awakening, the agonizing pain in his head was still there.

Ford had the feeling that it took him ages to get to the kitchen. As if his body put all its energy in fighting the pain in his head. Finally he opened the kitchen door to find…no one. The kitchen was deserted. Slowly he realized something else. It was dark in the kitchen and not only in the kitchen but outside as well.

"Finally decided to open your eyes again?"

Ford jumped at the sudden sound and turned around to see his brother in the hallway.

"Stanley, I did not hear you coming."

"Sorry didn't want to scare you." Stan apologized.

Both men walked further into the kitchen and sat down.

"How long did I sleep?" Ford asked just before he yawned.

"Well…I left you in the bathroom around one…checked on you around five…and now it's half past ten." Stanley said. "You do the math."

"Wow that is a long time…wait you checked on me?"

Ford could not quite hide the surprise in his voice.

"Only because Dipper was being paranoid." Stanley said quickly. "What if Grunkle Ford has a concussion?" "What if Grunkle Ford lost his memory?" He added in a not so good impression of their nephew's voice.

Ford chuckled. Stan stood up and walked to the fridge.

"We left you some lasagne, want me to heat it up for you?" He asked, holding the plate up to Ford.

The latter's stomach began to wail at the mere sight of the plate full with food.

Stan laughed. "I'll take that as a yes." The man made his way to the microwave. "You know Sixer, some things never change."

Ford shot his brother a questioning look.

"You know what I mean, back in high school when you would lock yourself in our room, determined to write the best essay a fifteen year old had ever written." "You didn't eat, didn't sleep."

"Oh yeah, you abducted me and forced me to go camp on the beach with you." Ford said with a hint of a smile.

"It was for your own good." Stan said as he slid the plate over the table towards Ford. "Those brains of you are so full with scholarly stuff that it has no room for basic human needs like getting enough sleep or getting enough food in you."

Ford swallowed his first bite and scoffed. "I don't recall you complaining about my big brain when I tried to prep you for our tests."

Stan sat down with a sigh. "You know what…I miss those times." "Us looking out for one another, you in your ways and I in mine." "We both…completed each other."

Ford was about to take another bite but lowered his fork slowly. "Well that was…a very long time ago Stanley." "So many things have happened…we are not kids anymore."

"Yeah well sometimes I just like to think about the old days." Stan said as he stood up. "Anyway, I'm going to bed." "Good night Ford."

"Goodnight Stan…" Ford muttered as his brother exited the kitchen.

Ford quietly ate the rest of the lasagne and cleaned his dishes. After that, he quietly made his way to the vending machine. After his very long nap, he had no desire going back to bed. Instead he took the elevator down to the basement and sat behind his desk.

A content sigh escaped his mouth. There was something about the cool, dark room that calmed him down. He opened one of the drawers of his desk and pulled out a red, somewhat battered book out. It was Journal nr. 1. Perhaps he could find a cure for the terrible pain in his head in one of his books…


End file.
